Plastic containers, for example, plastic bottles, are often used as containers for fluid products, such as beverages. The production of plastic containers can happen directly in an injection molding machine using a thermoplastic plastic material. Another known method for producing plastic containers comprises first a production of plastic preforms in an injection molding machine. These plastic preforms are then being formed to the desired plastic containers in a blow molding machine. For that purpose, the plastic preforms are being thermally conditioned and then formed to containers in so-called blow molds by being exposed to pressurized air.
For the production of the containers and/or of the preforms in the injection molding machine, often not only new plastic granulate is used, but also recycled plastic material, so-called plastic recyclate. The plastic recyclate can, for example, be obtained from already used plastic containers, which have been supplied for recycling by the consumer. In the process it is required to shred the old containers and to free the thus obtained plastic flakes from pollutions and to decontaminate them.
A disadvantage of the known methods is that in both, the recycling process and the production process, many method steps have to be performed at high temperatures and, thus, require an energy consuming heating of the plastic material.